Page 58 of Endure the Pain

That’s it? That’s all he’s going to tell me?

I fiddled with a gold bead on my dress. “Did you know there is a clause in the BFF contract that you’re supposed to confide in me if something is troubling you and I’m supposed to listen?”

He stared out his window. “Is that so?”

“I take my BFF contract very seriously. So if you need me, trust that I’ll help you.”

He responded with a nod, a clear sign that he was done talking. I looked forward and saw that Asher was staring at me through the rearview mirror again. His eyes drifted to Dean before returning to the road. He had been listening.

When we got to the house, Asher held my door open for me to climb out. With just the two of us on one side of the car, he leaned close. “Want me to look into it?”

I nodded, hoping that whatever he found would be nothing. I didn’t want to snoop around in Dean’s life,but my gut was screaming at me that something wasn’t right, and I had an obligation to protect my family.Just in case.

According to the instructions on the pregnancy tests, which I had to read quickly in the bathroom before Jamie and Louie suspected anything, it was best to test with your morning pee. It also said that I could either risk pissing on my hand while I tried to aim for the absorbent end of the stick or I could play scientist by catching my liquid waste in a cup and dipping the stick in it. I figured, why not do both.

I had no idea why I was trying to be an overachiever so early in the morning without caffeine, but I managed to do it. I still wasn’t able to drink coffee.If I couldn’t have coffee because of a possible parasite…oh, maybe I have a parasite and not a human being growing inside of me.Please! Please be a parasite!

After a few tests were soaked with my pee, I set them on the bathroom counter.

Dean and Asher were waiting on the couch in the bedroom. Jamie and Louie were downstairs at breakfast. I'd told them I was going to skip breakfast today.

I stared at the tests as I waited. It didn’t take long for the results to show. One right after the other, they showed positive. One of them even spelled it out for me, whereas the other had two dark pink lines.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” I began pacing.How the fuck did this happen?I knew how it happened. But I was on the pill. I took it every morning without fail because Idid notwant kids. Never had.

I was starting to panic.

What am I going to do?

I have to get rid of it.

Could I?

Should I?

What am I going to tell Jamie? Damnit! And Louie?

“Maura?” Dean said, knocking on the bathroom door.

I dashed for the door and swung it open. “I need Brody!” I said loudly in a panicked voice.

“I take it the results weren’t what you wanted?” he asked.

“Just get me Brody. Discreetly,” I ordered and slammed the door closed.

At first, I didn’t know why Brody’s name had popped into my head, but as soon as I thought about it, I realized that I had always gone to him when I'd been sick or had a feminine emergency. To me, this fell in both categories.

It felt like forever before there was a knock on the door. “Maura?” I heard Brody’s voice from the other side of the door before he poked his head inside. He saw me standing by the counter with my arms folded across my chest. I gnawed on my lip to help keep my composure. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him before coming over to me. “Are you alright?” he asked, eyes roaming over me for any signs of what might be wrong. The tests on the counter caught his attention and his eyes grew big. “Oh, boy.”

I took a deep breath and metaphorically pulled up my big girl panties. “Can you help me make this go away?”

His forehead creased. “Are you sure?”

I went to argue, but he spoke before me. “I’m not saying no and I’m not judging you. I’m just asking if you’ve actually thought it through. I don’t want you to make a big decision like this on temporary emotions only to look back at this moment later with regret.”

“You’re strangely calm about this,” I grumbled.

He shrugged. “It could be worse. You could be sixteen, which was a worry of mine every time I found you alone with Jameson and Louie in this big house with so many bedrooms. I think the only thing that helped me sleep at night was that you were completely oblivious to how they felt for you.”